You are here

The High Court may have ruled that the Right to Education (RTE) Act does not apply to unaided minority schools even if they have been receiving aids in the form of concessions in property tax and lease of land from the government, but activists feel ambiguities persist on the 'aided' and 'unaided' status of schools. One of the major issues on which the HC verdict can have widespread effect, the activists say, is whether schools that have unaided primary and aided secondary sections are liable to reserve 25 per cent students under the RTE Act or not.

Taking stock at the end of the third year of the implementation of the Right To Education (RTE) Act, a micro study carried out in the three states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha on inclusion of children with disabilities in the government school system reveals that their enrolment in relation to all children continues to be less than one per cent.

The Multi-Grade Learning Centres (MGLC), single-teacher schools in the remote tribal and coastal areas of the State, will seize to exist this March with the conclusion of a three-year extension. MGLCs were set up in 1997 to ensure universal primary education under the District Primary Education Project (DPEP) across the State. After the enactment of the Right to Education Act in 2012, the State government had announced the conversion of MGLCs into primary schools. But this was not done. There were 354 MGLCs in the State and 11,888 students dependent on it.

Underprivileged children staying in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) hostels in the State will soon have exclusive hostels with schools attached, dedicated to prepare them for integration into the mainstream. At present, under the SSA ‘Residential Schools for Specific Category Students’ programme (meant for Classes 6 to 8), children are being accommodated in hostel rooms on the premises of existing government schools itself. From the academic year 2015-16, however, these children will have separate hostels with school on the premises.

NEW DELHI: Three years of Right to Education has resulted in expansion of schools with 98% of habitations having primary schools within one kilometre and 92% habitations having upper primary schools within three kilometres. The government has now decided to shift the focus on quality of education and decided to formulate national standards for schools' performance to keep students and parents well informed.

The High Court may have ruled that the Right to Education (RTE) Act does not apply to unaided minority schools even if they have been receiving aids in the form of concessions in property tax and lease of land from the government, but activists feel ambiguities persist on the 'aided' and 'unaided' status of schools. One of the major issues on which the HC verdict can have widespread effect, the activists say, is whether schools that have unaided primary and aided secondary sections are liable to reserve 25 per cent students under the RTE Act or not.

Taking stock at the end of the third year of the implementation of the Right To Education (RTE) Act, a micro study carried out in the three states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha on inclusion of children with disabilities in the government school system reveals that their enrolment in relation to all children continues to be less than one per cent.

The High Court may have ruled that the Right to Education (RTE) Act does not apply to unaided minority schools even if they have been receiving aids in the form of concessions in property tax and lease of land from the government, but activists feel ambiguities persist on the 'aided' and 'unaided' status of schools. One of the major issues on which the HC verdict can have widespread effect, the activists say, is whether schools that have unaided primary and aided secondary sections are liable to reserve 25 per cent students under the RTE Act or not.

Taking stock at the end of the third year of the implementation of the Right To Education (RTE) Act, a micro study carried out in the three states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha on inclusion of children with disabilities in the government school system reveals that their enrolment in relation to all children continues to be less than one per cent.

When Jay Prakash Narayan called for a total revolution (sampoorna kranti) in 1974, he meant well. But, he faltered in not insisting on developing indicators and tools for midcourse correction. I hope we do not repeat history. After all, in real politics, no visionary can ever anticipate all contingencies that might arise, and thus warrant a quick response. Muddling through the mess of contradictory popular aspirations without compromising with basic ideals is possible, and according to me it is the need of the hour.